RIDGEWAY - Two Medina men, including the son of the owner of an abandoned house here, were charged with setting a fire that destroyed the vacant two-story wood-frame structure at 11228 Ridge Road Wednesday evening, according to the Orleans County Sheriff's Department.
Edward L. Schneider III, 21, and Christopher A. Swan, 20, were charged with third-degree arson and second-degree assault. The assault charge is linked to an injury sustained by a firefighter on the scene of the fire. The blaze engulfed the house owned by Schneider's mother about 6:15 p.m. Wednesday. The house, abandoned for about three years, was declared a total loss.
Both suspects were arraigned before Shelby Town Justice Dawn Keppler Wednesday and released on their own recognizance pending further court proceedings scheduled for the Ridgeway Town Court.